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A Perfect Long Weekend in Healdsburg, Calif.

A wine expert's guide to three days in Sonoma County for feasting, strolling, shopping, sunning and sipping—without spending hours behind the wheel.

By

Lettie Teague

Updated May 28, 2013 12:47 p.m. ET

Ask a Healdsburg resident to describe this hamlet in northern Sonoma County and the reply will likely be couched in temporal terms: old Healdsburg or new? Before 2001, the town had family restaurants and local joints and just a sprinkling of visitors from far away. Then came the swanky Hotel Healdsburg and chef Charlie Palmer's acclaimed restaurant Dry Creek Kitchen—followed by boutiques, Michelin-starred eateries and, of course, tourists. Today Healdsburg is a remarkable synthesis of old and new—of small-town friendliness and big-city chic—of very good wine and equally good food. Here's what to do in Healdsburg and the...